Stories
Meet Mayan,
When Mayan visited the SSI office she presented as a bright young woman in her 20’s who spoke with great eloquence. When asked about her current situation, Mayan’s eyes instantly welled with tears. The young woman lowered her head and said, “It has been so hard, so hard.”
Meet Remy,
Remy is a 15-year-old girl who visited an SSI office on behalf of her mother. Remy shares a room with her mother in a rental share house. The mother and daughter were forced to move out of their old home in May due to an inability to pay rent.
Meet Andrew,
Andrew* has been in Australia on a bridging visa for seven years. He is currently 14 weeks in rent arrears. He is unable to find appropriate work due to COVID-19, in addition to a physical injury he sustained before arriving in Australia.
Meet Raj,
Raj is a young man in his 20’s living alone in Sydney on a bridging visa without family. He presented as a quiet and reserved individual that would not normally seek out or draw attention to himself. When asked about his situation, Raj was hesitated to open-up to SSI.
Meet Sandra,
Sandra is a young woman who aspires to become a qualified lawyer and travelled to Australia alone to do her master’s degree. Sandra previously worked in a restaurant, but lost work due to COVID-19 and is now unemployed and ineligible for federal government support. Her situation has now gone from bad to worse.
Meet Bashar
As a leader in the Sydney’s migrant and refugee communities, fomer refugee Bashar Hanna, is using his experience and skills to help newcomers survive and thrive in this rapidly changing COVID-19 world.
Meet Saira
In March 2018, Saira* crossed the globe alone, travelling from her home in Sierra Leone to Australia, to escape her traditional marriage and build the foundations of a new life for herself, and one day her children.
Meet Damon
Like many individuals working in the creative sector, Damon, a talented asylum-seeking photographer and artist has been greatly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Despite paying tax on his work for years, Damon is ineligible for the federal government’s COVID-19 emergency stimulus payments.
Meet Annisa
Annisa* is a 25-year-old mother of a young son, and is pregnant with her second child. She came to Australia to seek asylum. Annisa is in the middle of a separation with her husband and has had to leave their shared home. She has been left homeless, staying with friends, for now.
Meet Amer
Entrepreneur and Syrian refugee, Amer Al Baloout, has worked hard to build a successful life for himself and his family through his clothing alteration shop.Despite his success, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns has brought Amer’s business and income to a complete halt.
Meet Sami
After losing his job as a construction worker eight weeks ago, Sami has struggled to pay his bills and afford food for he and his wife, burning through his life savings just to meet their basic needs. Sami has been forced to rely on support from not-for-profit organisations to meet his basic needs.
Meet May,
At night, May sleeps on a massage table at a local massage clinic. She is entirely dependent on the support of charity. The most she has been able to receive is food, warm clothing, and a $50 everyday voucher.
Samson* is a middle-aged man on a bridging visa who received a double negative response to his application for asylum in Australia. Samson lost his job due to COVID-19. He has exhausted all his savings and had had to burn through the little superannuation he was able to accumulate while employed.
Ahnaf is has been seeking asylum in Australia for his wife and three Australian born children, aged five, six and seven for over three years. Loss of work due to COVID-19 has left Ahnaf and his wife struggling to put food on the table. They have received an eviction notice to leave their family home.
Meet Mushtaq
Mushtaq is a young man who travelled to Australia from Pakistan to seek asylum. Mushtaq has had no way to pay rent for his room in a sharehouse after COVID-19 restrictions caused him to lose his job at a processing factory in March.
Meet Mohammed
Mohammed travelled from his home country to seek asylum in Australia. Before the COVID-19 shut-down Mohammed was working full time as an independent painter. The impact of COVID-19 has put a halt to Mohammed’s business, and income.